Charlie's Item Appearance Changer

Tired of your gear looking like everyone else's? Change it! 

Charlie's Item Appearance Changer 

This UI driven system allows you to select from a range of item appearances for your visible equipment! It can be installed for use in the official campaign, or added to your new module or online world. You can preview different armor, weapons, cloaks, helms, boots, gloves and shields. 

For Players 
To install Charlie's Item Appearance Changer: 
* Delete any previous versions of charlie_mda from your override or ui\custom folders. 
* Copy the folders "charlie-mda - ui", "charlie-mda - base-items" and "charlie-mda - scripts" to your override folder: "My Documents\Neverwinter Nights 2\override\ 
* (optional) To make appearance changes free in a local game, replace the folder "charlie-mda - scripts" with "charlie-mda - scripts - free". 
* In game, look for "Change Appearance" on the Player Menu (see screen shot). 

To modify the appearance of your companions, you will need to possess them before starting the appearance changer. You should also close the appearance changer before switching character. 

The new appearances in 1.05 can be previewed with the html pages in NWN2_CIAC_Guide. Double click the file index.html to view. 

Be aware that this overrides the Player Menu (playermenu_popup.xml), which may interfere with other mods. Alternatively you can launch the appearance changer from an item. To create the portable appearance changer item: 
* Target your character by right-clicking. 
* Open the debugging console with the back-tic "`" key. 
* Enter: debugmode 1 
* Enter: giveitem vn_mda_launch 
* Enter: debugmode 0 

For Developers 
To make Charlie's Item Appearance Changer a part of your module: 
* Import charlie_mda.erf into your module. 
* Place the Placeable-]valenet-]special-]Check Chest in an inaccessible area. 
* Launch the UI scene from an NPC, placeable, or other custom UI. Sample scripts for doing this are included as: 
* gui_vn_mda_launch - Launch Charlie's Item Appearance Changer, from a GUI. 
* ga_vn_mda_launch - Launch Charlie's Item Appearance Changer, from a conversation. 
* i_vn_mda_launch_ac - Launch Charlie's Item Appearance Changer, from an item. 
* Include the folder "charlie_mda - UI" in your campaign folder or hak pack. Alternatively have players install it in their custom UI folder: "My Documents\Neverwinter Nights 2\UI\custom\" 

For DMs 
DMs can see the cost to modify item appearances; however they do not require any gold. 

Compatibility 
Access to Charlie's Item Appearance Changer through the custom Player Menu will not be compatible with any other mod that overrides playermenu_popup.xml. I have made a set of player menus for compatibility between different mods in the Player Menu Pack (below). 

For people who want to use this with Alan's Universal Companions Database they will need to download the file "playermenu_popup.xml" as a separate download and replace the one in charlie_mda. This makes the Universal Companions Database buttons available as well as the Change Appearance button. (You will still need to download and install Alan's Universal Companions Database for the buttons to work.) 

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions 
Q. Why did we have to wait so long for someone to do this? 

A. I was going to do this first, but hubby said "No, wait until the new scripting function come out." Eventually I got impatient and did it anyway. 

Q. Does this really change appearance and tint? I mean really-really? 

A. No. Technically it allows you to choose from pre-built items, and copies your currently equipped item's properties onto the new item. That means you are limited to the appearances in the library of items included. The scripting functions in NWN1 that allow armour to be 'dyed' and changed piece at a time do not yet exist in NWN2. When they do I plan to rework this. 

Q. How do I change the name? How do I change the item properties? 

A. Not with this. Try Charlies Item Modifier instead / as well. 

Q. I have made a great looking out-fit for my character. How do I keep the same appearance when I upgrade my gear? 

A. Jot down the numbers that come up in the appearance changer UI. You can enter these numbers directly to restore a known appearance. However updates may not keep the same numbering. 

Q. Can I use this with custom models? 

A. With some changes you can access custom models, but: you need to make blueprints for the appearances you want, using the tool set and replace or add to the existing blueprints (*.uti files). You need to follow the same naming system used with the current *.uti files. If you add to - rather than replacing - you will also need to update the number of blueprints (for each kind of item) in vn_mdp__inc, and recompile. 

Jake Zahn did this for Lineage Arms and Armor here. 

Customization 

The cost of appearance modifications is set in the script vn_mda__inc. Instructions for changing the cost are included. The default cost is based on the cost of the item modified, similar to NWN1 crafting. Keep in mind that this does not add any intrinsic value to the item modified, so it should not be too expensive! If you have charlie-mda in your override folder you must replace the .nss and .ncs files there as well. 

You can replace any of the uti files with your own blueprints made in the toolset. The naming / numbering of the files is required for the scripts to find them and you must change the limits in vn_mda__inc if you want to add more blueprints than the current version. 

Updates 
From version 1.03, Charlie's Item Appearance Changer will try to check for updates, when playing on-line. It does this by comparing its version number against the version number in server scripts. This will give the user a message if the on-line server has a newer version installed. 

Change Log 

* 1.06 - Fixed an inssue that may prevent the change button working. Added warning for special metals.
* 1.05 - Added new appearances by Mike. 
* 1.04 - Bracers no longer converted to gloves. Included no gold version. 
* 1.03 - Companion equipment will now cycle. Added update check. Added blueprints by Raymon and SushiSquid. 
* 1.02 - Added splint mail and mithril armor types. Items now keep their names. Focus now switches properly to the appearance UI. 
* 1.01 - Added scripts to override missing in 1.00. 
* 1.00 - Initial Release. 

Credits 
Thanks to the following people for contributing to Charlie's Appearance Changer: 
* Mike for his appearance guide and for Clothes #1 to #80; Padded #1 to #16; Leather #1 to #20; Chain #1 to #30; Hide #1 to #12; Scale #1 to #17; Plate #1 to #61; Boots #1 to #62; Cloak #1 to #10; Gloves #1 to #29; Helm #1 to #38. 
* Cleitanious for his screenshot and for: Clothes #157, Chain Shirt #59, Chain Mail #59, Scale Mail #30, Leather #39, Scale Mail #40, Studded Leather #39, Breastplate #122, Half Plate #122, Full Plate #122, Banded Mail #122, Scale Mail #32 
* SushiSquid for: Clothes #158, Heavy Shield #25, Light Shield #25, Mithral Chain Shirt #59, Mithral Chain Mail #59, Mithral Breast Plate / Half Plate / Banded Mail / Splint Mail / Full Plate #122, Mithral Scale Mail #30, Scale Mail #33 

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